SEIU California Lauds Assembly Budget Blueprint

Sacramento, CA – The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California issued the following statement from President Laphonza Butler upon the release of Assembly Speaker John Pérez and Budget Chair Nancy Skinner’s forward-thinking budget blueprint for 2014-15:

“After years of austerity budgets that led California in the wrong direction, we are encouraged to see a turn-around plan for our state that prioritizes the critical investments we need today so our state can thrive tomorrow.

“Improving Medi-Cal access is a smart use of health care dollars that puts the focus on keeping Californians healthy and reducing chronic care costs. Giving working families tax relief and supporting parents as they transition from welfare to work represent a strong economic boost for our state.

“Most importantly, this budget plan recognizes that when it comes to building a strong state for the future, we’re all in this together. The Speaker’s plan wisely invests in educating our children from pre-school through college. Long overdue investments in early childhood education are the foundation needed to ready young minds to absorb their K-12 studies and beyond, while reducing the social costs of poor educational attainment.

“SEIU members stepped forward when our state needed us, enduring painful cuts to the services we provide to our communities, and volunteering our time and resources to pass Prop. 30 to secure the revenues needed to stop the cuts and invest in our future. We applaud the Speaker and Assemblymember Skinner’s forward-looking vision and look forward to working with them to flesh out the blueprint in our effort to address our communities’ needs. As the budget process moves forward, Californians can count on us to be champions for smart public services, such as home care, that save money even while improving lives, and for investment in the next generation.”

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SEIU local unions in California are made up of over 700,000 health care workers, janitors, social workers, nurses, security officers, in-home caregivers, school and university employees, court workers, and city, county and state employees.